Presentation: Having arrived back in England on Friday 18th April for my annual 2 week vacation only hours earlier, I was back in my beloved Wakefield Labour Club (the Red Shed) at lunchtime. After my first Pint of Ossett Brewery Pale Gold, and a Pint of White Gold and then White Scimitar from Durham Brewery - with a taste firmly for Cask Ale I headed for the 4th of four Real Ales available; Rudgate Ruby Mild at a (not so-mild like) 4.4% ABV.

Appearance: Dark bodied brew, black on the bar, but dark ruby color when held to the light. Tan colored creamy head that was quite thick yet soon dispersed. Solid conditioning throughout but it suffered from low carbonation levels.

Nose: Brooding, initially sulking in the glass, yet it soon wakes up and releases dark malts and a thin but strong dark mild character with some alcohol. A very feint hint of sourness came through in the end of this one, the cask was 3 days old, must have been getting to the end of its life.

Taste: Rich tastes in this decidedly un-Mild like brew. Malty start which has a raisin & plum laden hazelnut middle. Brown nutty ale finish mixed with more dark malts and a short lived dark chocolate bitter twang in the end.

Mouthfeel: Feels above average in the initial drink, but it twist & turns, it can lend a thin feel towards the end and swallow, yet this too changes again once the nutty aftertaste works its way through. Creamy at times.

Drinkability: A tad unbalanced for me, the high strength for a Mild detracts from the Drinkability, whilst the dark malty nutty tastes are poorly supported by the thin wavering mouthfeel. A bit up and down at times.

Overall: A dark premium mild that won a Silver medal at the CAMRA Winter Beer Festival in 2002. Tasty stuff, above average, but not a favorite of mine.

Rich smell - very prominent fresh-baked bread crust character to it. A little hint of chocolate and toffee hides behind this. The hops are very tame and hardly noticeable.

A little bit of a burnt taste, but this isn't too bad and this is still a delicious beer. Very nice mouthfeel and even though the ABV might be a little bit high for a mild, this is something to sit down with and enjoy a pint or three.

T) Quite watery really, with a slight fruity introduction and a pleasant roasty bitterness at the back. If the beer had a bit more of that second flavour, it would be quite a distinct and flavourful beer.

M) Quite watery and low carbonation does not help with that.

O) I would like the brewers to try a stronger version of this, playing up the roasted flavour that is lurking at the back of the mouth in this one.

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a pint glass. It's a boiling hot day so it's been refrigerated.

Pours a very dark red/black colour with a faintly off white head that settles down to a small layer and some very nice lacing.

Smells lovely and malty, bordering on burnt. Quite strong as well compared to other beers i've had recently.

Tastes surprisingly light and thirst quenching. It;s cold so the hops come out more, though still very faint compared with big sweet and burnt malts. Very smooth feel to it, hardly any fizzy carbonation at all.

Half pint at 'spoons Crystal Palace in Glasgow. Ruby red coloured beer with sligthly offhwite head. The nose is fruity, with pear, caramel and some hint of berry. It starts as per the nose (a soapy, pearlike fruitiness) before delivering a peppery, spicy finish. Very pleasant indeed. More please!

(Notes of Oct. 2007) The 4th beer tasted at the 2007 Sheffield Beer Festival, by a half-pint with a gravity pour.

A: dark mahogany in colour, great clarity, coming with low carbonation and a cob-web like loosely-foamy head.S: caramely malty, sweet nutty, with a touch of roasted malts and grass jelly. An earthy touch of hops runs underneath.T: sour-sweet caramel malts and caramelised sugar abound, on a par with raisin-y dried fruits plus a little sour nuttiness. A flow of fragrant bitterness and caramely-sugary aroma deepens, as a quiet undercurrent of peppery and woody bitterness as well as roast nuttiness sustains in the end.M&D: as fresh as it should be for a fresh cask ale, med-bodied, going lighter sip by sip following a rich start. A quaffable and pleasantly sour-sweet Mild overall.